The Invisible Woman-An Alternate Scenario
by RealHumanBean
Summary: After a harrowing day on the job, Keith drives around for hours, until he finds himself at David's door. David welcomes him, but finally decides to stand up for himself.


Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any rights to these characters or any other elements of Six Feet Under. All rights to their respectable owners and HBO. No money is being made from this. Anything recognizable belongs to the original authors and is just being used for context.

After a harrowing day on the job, Keith drives around for hours, until he finds himself at David's door…

"Keith, what's wrong?"

"I'm not sure."

"Okay. Come in and sit down."

"I shouldn't have even come here."

"It's fine."

"You want a beer? - I have Rolling Rock or Amstel Light"

"I killed someone today."

"Oh, my God."

"It was this guy. Him and this woman were having a fight. They were obviously both high on something. He had a gun and…"

"I'm sure whatever it was, you did the right thing."

"He's dead, you fucking idiot! I should have aimed at his arm or his leg. I'm stupid. I'm so fucking stupid. I never killed someone before. I can't live with this."

"I don't know how to help you…Do you want to pray? Maybe that would do something."

Keith stares at David for a moment with a furrowed brow. He then reaches his hand out to the nape of David's neck and instinctively pulls his face close to his own. David, confused and in slight disbelief, pulls away. It takes a second for him to realize what Keith is asking of him in this moment. A look of understanding and yearning soon registers on his face as he leans in to accept his ex-lover's advance. Everything falls into place as they surrender to each other, skin to skin. The world closes in to contain just the two of them. An overwhelming sense of relief blossoms out, eating away at the anxieties and worries that consumed them moments ago, banishing the deep fissure that kept them intimately disconnected from one another over the past few months. Immediate comfort, then ecstasy eventually consume them both as they settle into each others' arms and fall asleep.

[Early the next morning, the phone rings.]

Awakened by the phone, David calls out for Keith. No answer. Half asleep, he picks up the receiver, "Hello?"

It was Nate, informing him that his morning consultation had cancelled.

"Alright, well call me if there are any walk-ins this morning. I'll be down in a few hours. I'm not really feeling well today…Yeah, thanks."

He wipes the sleep from his eyes and calls out for Keith again. This time he gets an answer coming from the bathroom.

Keith steps out wrapped in a towel, fresh from the shower. "I hope you don't mind. I used your towel."

David thinks to himself of all the intimate things they've shared together, a towel being the most impersonal. "No, of course not. It's fine," he responds. Looking at Keith, he can sense the hesitation in his face.

"Yeah, uh, I know you're busy, so I'm just gonna get dressed and get out of your hair."

"Well, I kind of have an open morning, so you could stay for a while. You know, if you want…"

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Okay?"

"David, I'm in a relationship."

"I know that. I'm not an idiot."

"Look, I don't know why I came to you last night, but I was confused and…"

"No, Keith. That's not fair and you know it. You can't just decide to love me when it's convenient, then throw it away the next day. You didn't come here because you were confused. And I didn't let you in because I was."

A tinge of remorse colors Keith's face as he tries to rationalize what he knows is both wrong and untrue. "I honestly thought we could just be friends, but I was obviously just kidding myself. And you're right. This back and forth isn't good for either one of us."

"So that's it?" David asks, almost as disgusted as he is let down. "You come here, spend the night, then rush back to your 'real' life early in the morning. Geez, I'm sorry I woke up, you almost could've snuck out without saying anything," he says with a biting sarcasm, simultaneously shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

"David, I don't know what you want me to say. I fucked up and I'm sorry.

"I want to be here for you. You know I _am_ here. And that's the problem. It's like you reach out for me and as soon as I reach back, you pull away. It's not right. I can't keep myself open to that anymore. I shouldn't."

Taking in everything David's just said, Keith retires himself to the futon where they first touched the night before. With his head in his hands, he decides to stop resisting what has inherently felt right since he met David at St. Stephen's that Sunday a year ago. Having finally made a decision, he concedes, "I have no idea what I'm gonna tell Eddie."

A slight bit of hope jumps in David's chest. "Look, I'm not saying you have to go home, tell him everything, and kick him out today." Though that would be very efficient and extremely satisfying, he thinks to himself. "But you can't keep one foot in this door, while you're out living your life with someone else."

"I know. I know. I don't intend to."

"…So you'll stay?"

Keith looks at the faint smile on David's face, nods his head and leans in towards his lips.


End file.
